Butia Catarinensis (or whatever is is these days)

[GregVirginia7]

Ok…shared the story of my 2nd attempt to germinate palm seeds…1st attempt, Sabal minor seeds from my 13-year old palms in South Bethany, Delaware…perfect palms, no protection…put three seeds in a pot, all three sprouted and all are in-ground and doing great 2 years now, unprotected…2nd attempt…dreaming of that in-ground zone 7 pinnate so ordered Butia Catarinensis seeds and tried the bag method to sprout them but even copper fungicide didn’t deter the fungus so I spread them out on my garden bench to dry…checked on then the next day and they were all gone…I was squirreled. Long story short, the squirrel buried one right off my ground level deck facing north. This spring, was pulling weeds and there the strap was…facing north, having sprouted with no winter protection whatsoever…anyway, I carefully dug it up and potted it but even though it’s pushing a second strap, it doesn’t seem happy so I scouted out a spot on my limited backyard space and put it back in the ground. The spot I chose is very dry which I read they like so supplemental watering will be in order. It is also in a spot easy to winter protect. For now, barring any catastrophes, with winter protection, I may get that pinnate I’ve been seeking, especially since it sprouted in-ground and sent up a 6” strap after wintering on its own in unprotected, sunless dirt…good genes? For you folks in warmer zones, this is a big deal in zone 7… hopefully can share progress updates…@FallenMunk, .01% of squirrels are not bad…but that’s it.

Here is a long shot to show its position on the bank (center, behind stump) will have 100% sun available in winter and get afternoon shade in late summer…gets more sun as fall approaches…though there is a faster growing Trachy to the left, the Butia will still get good sun, given the path the sun takes overhead…

[Fusca]

@GregVirginia7 nice of the squirrel to help you get germination!  I failed many times to germinate Butia seeds in the past but then read that some commercial growers refrigerate the seeds before sowing.  I tried it myself (4 weeks in the refrigerator) and got good results.  I wouldn't try this with seeds from tropical species but it seems to help with Butia seeds.